“THE STATE OF ISRAEL … will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.”

When David Ben-Gurion read these words sixty-six years ago in Tel Aviv, under imminent threat of war from its new neighbours, Israel declared a daring vision for itself.

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Last year, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni appointed Ruth Gavison, Israeli law professor and former president of NIF’s flagship grantee the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), to assist her in preparing a constitutional arrangement reflecting Israel’s character as a “Jewish and democratic” state.

Following broadcast last night of the ABC Four Corners programme “Stone Cold Justice”, Robin Margo S.C., president of NIF Australia, said: “The application of military justice to Palestinian juveniles in the West Bank has long been of concern to Israeli NGOs. And the Israeli Government, to its credit, accepts that raising such concerns is a proper function of its national human rights organisations.”

Thousands of Israelis will be able to take a critical step out of the poverty chain thanks to the efforts of the SHATIL-led Public Housing Forum.

After several years in deep freeze, Israel’s Public Housing Law, passed in 1998, will now be implemented again due to the Forum’s intensive advocacy work.

“One third of Israelis live below the poverty line and families spend more money on housing than anything else. Implementation of the Public Housing Law will help thousands of Israelis who have difficulty meeting basic needs like food, medicine and housing and will significantly reduce the dimensions of intergenerational poverty in the country,” said SHATIL policy expert, Danny Gigi.

Did you know that before Sunday's massive rally in Israel supporting the rights of African refugees and asylum seekers, NIF gave an emergency grant to help the protest organisers?

At the rally in downtown Tel Aviv, 20,000 African migrants and refugees gathered to protest harsh new laws aimed at their status in Israel. According to the legislation, anybody crossing Israel's border without a permit is detained and transferred to an "open facility." Once in the open facility, thrice daily roll-calls make it almost impossible to leave or work. Migrants can be held indefinitely. As has been the case for some time, Africans with legitimate claims to asylum status are not receiving individual hearings as required by international law.

NIF's grant of $3,000 for transportation and sound equipment helped support these marginalized voices.

As Israel's development and implementation of the Prawer-Begin Plan progresses, we have collated a number of resources to help you better understand its implications for Israel's Bedouin sector. Most usefully is an excellent video from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI):

The New Israel Fund Australia Foundation is a leading organisation committed to social justice, human rights and democracy in Israel. We work with Israelis experiencing poverty, discrimination and injustice to create a more inclusive, tolerant and equal society. Based on the vision of the country’s founders, we work towards an Israel that is “based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel… [and] complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.”